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It turns out that productivity may actually decline as workers put in longer and longer hours. So say many recent articles and studies addressing the relationship between the hours worked by an employee and the output she can be expected to produce.

A former recruiting candidate of mine shared just such an article from the Wall Street Journal this week titled, “Radical Idea at the Office: A 40-Hour Workweek.” This particular piece focuses on the benefits of a fixed and capped work week to both the company (its ability to attract high-caliber applicants, pay lower compensation) and employees (clear expectations and work-life balance) and, like most recent articles on the topic, quotes John Pencavel, a labor economics professor at Stanford University, whose research indicates that increases in productivity from additional working hours decline above a certain threshold (read his study here).

These are not new ideas. That they seem new is further evidence of our growing obsession with being “busy.” And our resulting inability (or disinclination) to truly disconnect from work is causing us to confuse working a lot with working hard.

Working hard is not (necessarily) working fast. It is not running a manic, unceasing race to stay ahead of an ever-expanding inbox. It is not responding to every ring or buzz of a phone at any time of day. It is not even within the capabilities of one who feels beholden to and at the effect of everyone’s agenda but her own. Continue reading →

A man out for a stroll, upon seeing his neighbor furiously sawing away at an old tree, stops to ask what he’s doing. Sweating profusely, the neighbor replies, “I’m cutting down this tree.”

“How long have you been at it?” the man inquires. “You look exhausted.”

“Yeah, I’ll say,” responds the neighbor. “I’ve been out here over two hours.”

“Why don’t you take a rest and sharpen your saw?”

Exasperated now, the neighbor snaps back, “I don’t have time to sharpen my saw! Can’t you see how busy I am cutting down this tree?”

I used to be the neighbor with the ever dulling saw. Truth be told, some days I still am.

But now, when I find myself toiling away and making what seems like no progress on the task at hand, I stop, at least for a moment. But often for longer. I may take a 20-minute break or go for walk. Sometimes I spend a few minutes doing nothing but taking deep breaths and counting each inhale and exhale.

Just a couple minutes ago, after staring blankly at my screen for a while, I dropped down on my elbows next to my desk and held a plank until I collapsed to the floor. I’m a bit dizzy now from getting back up too quickly. My heart’s racing and my abdomen is trembling palpably. I feel good. And I’m looking at my work with fresh eyes and the words feel like they’re flowing.

I have “sharpened my saw.”

Covey’s 7th habit is not necessarily about getting “ un-stuck” in the completion of specific task or project (though I have found that its components do wonders for that). It is about continuous self-renewal, life long learning and growth. It targets four basic areas in which self-improvement can be highly leveraged to enhance, often dramatically, our experience of and performance in every other area our lives. Here are the areas Covey describes:

Physical:

Beneficial eating, exercising, and resting

Social/Emotional:

Making social and meaningful connections with others

Mental:

Learning, reading, writing, and teaching

Spiritual:

Spending time in nature, expanding spiritual self through meditation, music, art, prayer, or service

My approach has been to implement and maintain a daily practice that I adapted from James Altucher’s take on this idea (“How to Be THE LUCKIEST GUY ON THE PLANET in 4 Easy Steps”). I’m sure I’ll flesh out a few of these further in the future, but here is what that looks like for me:

Physical:

Do some pushups, squats, or a plank, walk instead of drive to the library or the local Starbucks, replace some sitting time with standing time, cold showers, get 8 hours of sleep, avoid foods with added sugar

Social/Emotional:

Write to/call a dear friend or loved one, reconnect with an old colleague/client/professional contact, have a coffee/drink/meal with a close friend, wrestle with my daughters, watch standup comedy, minimize or eliminate contact with people whose negative energy regularly drains my own

I am in favor of profanity. There are no bad words, I tell my kids, only bad intent. The catharsis of a well-placed expletive is often worth the risk of offense. But language does matter. The words we choose do not just reflect the state of our minds. They have the power to change it.

This is why I am convinced that “busy” is the dirtiest word in the English language. It is the modern signifier of the “quiet desperation” that Thoreau observed was a defining trait of many people’s lives. And, just like with other four-letter words, its corrosive effect on our psyches is found in the intention with which we tend to use it. As humorist Tim Kreider writes in his essay, Lazy: A Manifesto, “It is, pretty obviously, a boast disguised as a complaint.”